UPDATED: April 15, 2024, 8:06 a.m. EDT
German bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg has announced plans to provide its institutional and corporate clients with an “investment-as-a-service” infrastructure for storing and acquiring cryptocurrencies.
Germany’s largest federal bank has partnered with Austria-based exchange Bitpanda to implement the new crypto custody services. It plans to start a custody pilot project in the second half of 2024, which will initially include storage and trading of bitcoin and ether.
Partnership between LBBW and Bitpanda
The partnership with Bitpanda will provide LBBW with the technical and regulatory infrastructure necessary to offer its clients the new digital asset trading and custody solution, said LBBW Board Member Stefanie Münz. “By offering crypto-asset custody, we position ourselves with clear added value for our corporate clients, while ensuring the highest security standards,” added Münz.
LBBW said it is in the early stages of creating the technical and regulatory foundation necessary to best support the individual crypto strategies of its corporate clients.
“The demand from our corporate clients for digital assets is increasing and we are convinced that crypto assets will establish themselves as a building block of new business models,” said Dr. Jürgen Harengel, COO of LBBW Corporate Bank, in a statement. press statement.
Bitpanda obtains German cryptocurrency trading and custody license
In November, Bitpanda obtained a cryptocurrency trading and custody license in Germany. of the country’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
The Vienna-based exchange is now able to legally offer German citizens custody of cryptocurrencies and proprietary trading of crypto assets, maintain an order book and directly market crypto services.
Bitpanda has already obtained licenses across Europe, including Austria, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Sweden.
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